


The Best Defense

by PrinceSnoozy



Series: Gladio Rarepair Week 2019 [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Crowe Lives AU, Disobeying Orders, Don't ask me how, F/M, Protectiveness, Shield Parallels, World of Ruin, accepting death, referenced F/F relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-26 19:21:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17751959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceSnoozy/pseuds/PrinceSnoozy
Summary: During World of Ruin, Gladio gets cornered by a Red Giant and almost breaks his promise.Day 2 of Gladio Rarepair Week 2019 for the prompt "Shields."





	The Best Defense

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone who's read my fic Touch, this and other fics in this week series will take place in kind of an AU setting of that story. I'm doing it that way to practice writing Gladio and one of the new Glaives in a similar universe without giving away spoilers for it. Plus I really ship them, obviously :3c
> 
> For those who haven't read it (which is probably most of you), [here are Naomi and Aquila](https://prince-snoozy-ao3-dump.tumblr.com/post/182730205095/throwing-this-here-for-ao3-purposes-carry-on). Just putting that out there so I didn't have to go on a long-winded description.
> 
> Big shoutout to clownfishae for letting me borrow her OC for my fics \o/

Gladio ran at a dead sprint toward the commotion, passing through the narrow streets of Lestallum and dodging refugees as they ran in the opposite direction, _away_  from the chaos that lay ahead. Iris and Talcott slipped past him on the way, leading a group of civilians toward the safety of the Leville. He locked eyes with Iris for a moment, and she nodded briefly as she passed. He returned the nod and ran onward toward the center of town.  
  
All that remained in the main square as he arrived were hunters and members of the newly-revived Kingsglaive. They had gathered in front of the large barricade at the former entrance to the city, with Monica and Cor standing before them. A few stray Glaives and hunters stood atop the watch towers on barricade, hurridly relaying information on headsets. Aranea stood on the tower on the left side, decked out in her full battle gear, lance at the ready.  
  
Gladio jogged past the Glaives and approached Cor, who pulled away from Monica and turned to him.  
  
"Good, you're still here," Cor said, a hand on his arm pulling Gladio aside. "We've got a huge problem."  
  
"What's up?"  
  
"Daemons, and lots of them." Cor looked toward the group of Glaives and Gladio followed, his eyes lingering on one in particular standing away from the main crowd with two others. "They're heading for the city, and we're not sure our barriers will hold up."  
  
"So you're deploying the Glaives to deal with the threat?"  
  
"Half of them. Half will stay here and defend the city from behind the blockades with the hunters. I want you and Aranea to go with the outside group and give them all the help you can."  
  
"Got it. What about you?"  
  
"I'll be leading the group inside the blockades, but if you need backup, don't hesitate to call me."  
  
"Will do."  
  
He pulled away from Cor and made his way over to the three Glaives standing on their own, talking amongst themselves and gesturing in ways that made it obvious they were planning their strategy for the defense operation. Two were of similar short stature, while the third was taller and had the lighest hair, and that's who he approached. She turned to him and her blue eyes lit up, while the other two stepped off to the side to give him room.  
  
"Hey, Naomi," he said, not missing the way the other two whispered to each other beside him. "Heard you guys are going outside with us."  
  
"Not us," she replied, glancing toward her two companions. "We've been placed behind the main blockade."  
  
"Is that so..."  
  
The one with her hair pulled back into a bun put her hand on Naomi's shoulder and smirked at Gladio.  
  
"It makes sense, yknow," she pointed out, giving Naomi's shoulder a small shake. "Naomi's known these days as the Shield of the Glaives, so keeping her here while the Shield of the King goes out there gives us two lines of defense."  
  
"You made it sound way too official, Crowe," the other one spoke up, nudging Crowe's bicep with her fist.  
  
"It's true, though."  
  
"You got me there."  
  
"So all three of you will be back here, then?" Gladio asked, motioning to the blockade.  
  
"Yeah," Crowe replied, supplemented by a nod from Naomi. "Aquila and me will be up top in the towers, Naomi will be down here as a last stand."  
  
"A... last stand?" he repeated, locking his gaze onto Naomi's.  
  
"If they get in, it's over," Aquila spoke up from beside (and below) him. "Your girlfriend's our last line of defense, so don't die or something."  
  
"Nice pep talk," he replied dryly; Naomi laughed.  
  
"No problem," Aquila replied, shooting fingerguns at him as she stepped away.  
  
Crowe followed her and they huddled together, trading soft whispers as Gladio turned away; they'd be making out before long and he wasn't about to gawk.  
  
He focused on Naomi instead, and, just as he did, she closed the distance between them _very_  quickly. He blinked, and then her lips pressed up against his own. He brought in a sharp breath through his nose as he carded his fingers through her long hair, which she leaned into, her desperation evident in the tight grip she had on the front of his jacket. She pulled back, leaving him panting softly, her blue eyes burning into his own.  
  
"Don't die," she said quietly, her tone serious.  
  
"I don't plan on it," he replied just as quietly, cradling the side of her face in his hand.  
  
"Alright, time to move out!" Cor announced over the low din of the crowd.  
  
He and Naomi separated, and he turned to head toward the exit of the outpost, his sword already materializing from the armiger into his hand.  


* * *

Gladio stumbled back against the blockade, blocking with his shield against another strike from the Red Giant in front of him. This was it; this was the last daemon of the attacking horde. But it was also down to just himself and Aranea, as every Glaive who came with them outside the barricades had fallen or had to retreat, mostly the former. And they didn't fall to the other daemons, as those--even the Necromancers--had gone down without much incident. It was this daemon, right in front of him, staring him down just as he was at his limit, that took out every Glaive in just a few sweeping strikes.  
  
A pop of red-hot electricity rippled through the air as Aranea crashed down onto the daemon, her lance sliding sharply off its sword. She landed not too far from Gladio, but away from the blockade in the beaten-down street. She leaned onto her lance for a few moments, seeming dazed, then rolled out of the way of a sweeping sword attack, just barely escaping. She stumbled to a stop and collapsed to one knee, holding herself up with her lance.  
  
Seems like they were both at their limits now.  
  
A flash of fire above him and he just barely braced his shield in time as the sword came down on him again. It didn't bounce off this time, instead landing with a crushing weight against the shield and, incidentally, his arm. His weary legs finally gave out under the weight, and his back slammed into the cheval de frise, knocking the wind from him briefly. Sweat beaded on his forehead as the flames from the sword hovered half a meter above his head, resting against the wooden pikes, where smoke began billowing off of them.  
  
The weight lifted, and then a sideways slash this time, sending him ducking to the ground with the shield above his head as the sword and flames passed over him, missing him completely. Charcoal and ash filled his nostrils, and he looked above himself and past the shield to see a sea of flames.  
  
The bastard lit the cheval de frise on fire.  
  
Gladio searched in front of him, just in his line of vision. He had an escape route between its legs, but that would leave the barricade open to even more attack. Besides, he was too exhausted to even attempt such acrobatics and actually make it. He spotted Aranea take off into the sky, assumably to recoup inside. So, there went his backup; though, to be perfectly honest, the situation was dire, and he probably wasn't getting out of this whether she stayed or not.  
  
The daemon slammed his sword down again and Gladio's shield caught it, but he fell to his knees this time. He reached to his ear and keyed his headset, other arm shaking under the sword's weight on his shield.  
  
"Hey, Naomi," he rasped. "Sorry."  
  
He regretted it as soon as he said it, but, at the same time, he needed her to hear something from him for the last time, other than a promise that he was about to break. She'd know what he meant.  
  
He hoped.  
  
The giant raised its sword again, and Gladio braced himself, and, even if it was futile, he kept his shield raised. Not exactly the way he'd imagined this would happen, but at least no one else had to watch. The sword came down, and he closed his eyes, steeling himself for the impact.  
  
The impact never came.  
  
A sharp metallic _shing_  rang out and echoed against the blockade behind him. He looked up just as the giant stumbled backward, a translucent blue barrier between them now, and a large one at that.  
  
"Nao--?"  
  
The wind picked up around him out of nowhere and extinguished the fire, followed by a tornado of smoke and flames that swept across and through the Red Giant, knocking it off balance and leaving it seemingly-weak and dizzy.  
  
The blue barrier dropped from around him, and he looked down slightly to see Naomi's back as she darted forward. A gleaming white-gold hammer appeared in her hand as she drew her arm back. She hurled it at the daemon, hitting it square in one knee with a flash of light and a _thwump_ , and it went down, landing prone.  
  
A flash of white light beside him and Crowe landed at his side, the warm buzz of healing magic flowing through him as her hand touched his shoulder. He looked up to the sky again as he pulled himself to his feet, lines of blue light standing out against the darkness above. The flash of another warp and the shrill metallic spin of a shuriken, and Aquila came down on its head with a whirl of metal.  
  
"Go!" Naomi called back at him, the large blue barrier going up around them again. "Before it gets back up!"  
  
Gladio nodded and dismissed his shield, fixing his grip on his sword from defensive to offensive. He sprinted forward, past the barrier and past Naomi, heading straight for its head. Aquila backflipped off of the daemon just in time for him to pass under her, giving him the perfect opening.  
  
Still running, he swung his sword in a wide arc in front of him and jumped, using the momentum to spin in midair. The blade slashed the giant once, twice, he landed and swung again for another. He followed the momentum after the third strike right up into the air again and righted himself into a front flip, bringing his sword down with all the force he had, right onto the center of the Red Giant's head. It let out distorted scream, and then dissolved into black ichor, which disappeared into the ground.  
  
He dismissed his blade and stood tall, panting, adrenaline coursing through his body, revigorated from Crowe's healing magic. He turned just in time for Naomi to reach him, and she brought him into a tight embrace, her lips finding his before he even fully realized he was still _alive_ , that he'd survived all that after he was fully prepared to die.  
  
When they parted moments later, he stared with bewilderment into her eyes, which were still a bit weary from expending so much magic on his behalf.  
  
"Thought you were supposed to be the city's last stand," he breathed, gaining a small smirk in return.  
  
"It was close enough," she replied, draping her strong arms over his shoulders. "Cor can forgive me for saving the King's Shield, I'm pretty sure."  
  
"You know, the Glaive's Shield has a pretty good ring to it," he chuckled, pressing his lips to her forehead. "You've definitely earned it."  
  
He kissed her again, celebrating their victory, as the sky lightened above them with what was left of the dawn, the once-eerie haze a reminder that they were surviving, together.  
  
And, no matter what this ruined world could throw at them, they would overcome it.


End file.
